Preventing the Onset of Youth Problem Sexual Behaviors
Preventing the Onset of Youth Problem Sexual Behaviors
One of the many troubling aspects of child sexual victimization is the high proportion of teens who engage younger children in sexual behaviors or peers in coerced sexual behaviors. Juvenile justice records indicate that 14 years of age is the modal age of children exhibiting problematic sexual behaviors (PSB) toward prepubescent children (Finkelhor et al., 2009; Snyder, 2000). These statistics may seem surprising until we consider that early adolescence is when most children begin engaging in sexual behaviors with others and begin navigating sexual relationships.